Oil burner shipping pallet



Nov. 14, 1961 E. R. WAGNER on. BURNER SHIPPING PALLET 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 10, 1960 l lj 1.1.. flllclx,

INVENTOR. ff/ff'zffngnw: Y B www Nov. 14, 1961 E. RA WAGNER 3,008,572

OIL BURNER SHIPPING PALLET Fled March 10, 1960 5- Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Erl/0'? E Wig/7er,

BY 23M Nov. 14, 1961 5R. WAGNER on. BURNER SHIPPING PALLET 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March lO, 1960 BY jfs M United States Patent O Filed Mar. 10, 1960, Ser. No. 14,035 4 Claims. (Cl. 206-65) This invention relates to a shipping pallet for gun-type oil burners in-which the oil burners themselves cooperate with otherpacking elements to the end that more oil burners can be accommodated in a palletized container occupying the same volumetric space Vas Aprevious palletized shipping containers containingffewer oil burners, thereby effecting substantialeconomies-in shipping costs.

There has been a growing tendency nrecent years t'o palletize articles of intermediate size for shipment, such as smaller motors and transformers; in a conventional palletized shipping container, the first row of articles is positioned upon a base member, a partition member is then placed upon the first row of articles and in turn supports a second row, -and so on. While conventional palletizing techniques have been eminently satisfactory for articles having a generally symmetrical profile, such as motors and transformers, conventional gun-type oil burners present a diicult problem for palletizing by virtue of the fact that they comprise a housing portion which encloses the blower and generally has the driving motor, a transformer and fuel pump secured thereto, with an air tube extending outwardly from the housing portion a substantial distance. Thus, while gun-type oil burners have been successfully palletized in the past, the number of oil lburners which could be accommodated in a single shipping carton of reasonable size was limited; this was because with the conventional palletizing technique of placing one layer of oil burners over another, the vertical height between layers was necessarily large in order to accommodate the air tubes of the oil burners in each layer. I

It is accordingly an object of my invention to provide an improved shipping pallet construction for gun-type oil burners in which a substantially greater vlnumber of oil burners can be accommodated in a shipping carton vof predetermined size than 4has previously been possible with prior oil burner palletizing arrangements knownv to the present applicant.

In accordance with Vthe broader aspects of my invention, therefore, I provide an oil burner shipping pallet comprising a base member, a plurality of oil burners'respectively having housing portions with, air'tubes extending therefrom and a partition member havinga plurality of holes formed therethrough. A A first group ofthe oil burners are disposed with their housing portions resting upon the base member and with their air Itubes extending vertically upwardly and the partition member is supported lby the housing portions of the first group of oil burners withthe air `tubes thereof respectively extending through the holes in the partition member. `A second group of the oil burners is disposed with 'their housing members resting upon theA partition member and jwith their air tubes extending vertically upwardly, thesecond group ofkoil burners being respectively displaced fromV the air tubes of the firstgroup. Finally, cover means is provided covering the rstpand second' groups of oil burners and the partition member andsecured to the base member.

' 65 "being" respectivelyV displace'dffrom fthe PatentedNov. 14, 1961 ICC Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent lby reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings, and the features Vof novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity inthe claims annexed to and forming apart of this specification.l

In the drawings: v

f FIG. l is a view in perspective of my improved oil burner pallet showing the cover removed;

FIG.' 2 is an exploded view Vshowing in assembly of the pallet of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 isanexplodedview showing-the next assembly ofthe pallet of FIG. l; FIG; 4 is a plan `View of one of the types of members employed in thepallet of FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is agplan view of the other type of partition member employed in the pallet of FIG. yl;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing one layer of oil burners in the pallet of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing the position of one oil vburner in a pallet of my invention.

Referring now to the figures of the drawing, the guntype. oil burners which are accommodated in and form a part of the pallet of my invention are generally shown at 10 in FIG. 7. The oil burners 10 include a housing portion 12'which accommodates the blower and which has an air inlet portion 14 and fuel pump 16 at one end thereof and the motor 19 (FIG. 6) extending from the other end. An air tube 18 extends from the housing portion 12 as shown, and an annular mounting iiange 20 is attached to the housing portion 12 and surrounds the air tube 18 at its inner end. An ignition transformer 22 is .attached to the housing portion 12 and ythe particular 'gun-type oil burners for which my improved pallet was specifically designed have a ilat portion 24 formed thereon with which the axis of the air tube 18 is generally perpendicular.

The improved pallet of my invention, generally identiiied at 30 in FIG. l comprises a base member 32 formed of suitable material, such as the corrugated paper board commonly used for packingmaterial; base member 32 :is generally rectangular in configuration and has an upwardly extending peripheral ange 34 formed therearound. Spaced parallel wooden skids 36Ymay be secured to the bottom'surface of base member 32 inv accordance with conventional practice.

In accordance with my invention, I employ two different forms of partition members or dividers as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and respectively identified as A and Partitions A and B are each formed of` suitable material such as vcorrugated board, and both are the first steps -steps in partition rectangular in form, as shown; partitions A-`and B are the same size andare slightly smaller than base member 32 in order tolbe accommodated within peripheral an'ge 34, as will be hereinafter described.

Y '.The pallet 30 shown in the drawings is designed vto accommodate six'foil burners in eachlayer, and thus, partitions A as shown in FIG. 4 have six round holes 38 its'longit-udinal and transverse'A `center lines 46v and 48 longitudinal" and transverse center lines '50 and 52 of the partition member A. As will be hereinafter more fully described, round holes 38 in partition members A are proportioned `snugly to accommodate air tubes 18 of the o1l burners 10.

The partition members B also have six holes 54 cut therethrough respectively in alignment with the six holes 38 in the partition members A. Partition members B also have six rectangular holes 56 cut therethrough. Rectangular holes 56 are respectively associated with but spaced from round holes 54, and, as it will be observed in FIG. 5, rectangular holes 56 are disposed at an angle with respect to the sides of partitions B.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 2, in assembling the pallet 30 of my invention, a lirst partition B, identified as B-1 is positioned on base member 32 within the ange portion 34.y A first group 58 of six oil burners 10 are then positioned with the at portions 24 of their housing 12 respectively seated in the rectangular openings 56 of partition B41 and thus resting on base member 32. Since the rectangular holes 56 are respectively disposed at an angle to the sides of the partition B-1, it will be observed that the oil burners are also angularly disposed so that the motor'19 of one oil burner of one row is positioned beside the air opening portion and oil pump of the -adjacent burner of the same row. As best seen in FIG. 7, the air tubes 18 of the iirst group 58 of oil burners thus extend vertically upwardly. In order to provide additional support for the next partition member A-1, a pair of rectangular elements 60 and 62 formed of suitable material such as corrugated board are then positioned on base member 32 within the flange 34 respectively surrounding the two rows of oil burners 58; rectangular elements 60 and 62 have a height substantially the same as the height of anges 20 of oil burners 58 above the rst partition member B-l.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 3, a first partition member A-1 is now positioned resting upon the upper edges of the rectangular elements 60I and 62 and with the air tubes 18 of the iirst group of oil burners S8 respectively extending through holes 38 so that the partition member A-1 also rests upon the mounting anges 20. It will here be observed that the rst partition member A-1 has been rotated in its own plane by 180 with respect to the rst partition B-1 so that the circular holes 38 accommodate the air tubes 18 of the first group of burners 58. A second partition member B-Z is now positioned resting upon the first partition member A-l with its circular holes 54 respectively in alignment with the holes 36 of the partition member A-1 and with the air tubes 18 of the first group of oil burners 58 extending therethrough. It will be observed that the partition member B-2 is like wise rotated in its own plane by 180' from the iirst partition member B-1.

A second group of six oil burners 64 are then positioned with the at portions 24 of their housing portions 12 respectively seated in the rectangular holes 56 of partition member B-2 and vthus resting on partition A-1, and with their air tubes 18 thus extending vertically upwardly. As in the case of the rst row of oil burners 58, the second row 64 by virtue of the angular alignment of the rectangular holes 56 in the partition member -B-2 are angularly disposed, with the motor 19 of one burner being adjacent the air inlet portion14 and oil pump 16of the -adjacent burner. Furthermore, it will be observed, with particular reference to FIG. 6, that the second group of oil burners 64 are displaced from the blast tubes 18 of therst group of burners which project through the partition member B-Z upon which the second group of oil burners 64 rests; the blast tubes 18 of the lirst group of oil burners 58 extend respectively upwardly in the spaces between the burners of the second group 64. In order to provide additional support for-the next partition members A--2V and B-3 and the oil burners thereon, tubular elements 66 formedof vany suitable material s uch as corrugated board are positioned over the blast tubes 18 4l Y of the first group of burners 58, tubular members 66 having substantially the same height as the vertical height between partition member B-2 and the anges 20 of the second group of oil burners 64.

Another partition member A, identified as A-Z, is then positioned so that it rests upon the upper edges of tubular element 66 with lblast tubes 18 of the second group of bumers 64 respectively extending upwardly through its circular holes 38 so that the partition member A-2 also rests upon the flanges 20. It will now be observed that partition member A-2 has been rotated in its own plane with respect to partition member A-1 and that its circular holes 38 are in vertical alignment with the unused circular holes 'S4 in the bottommost partition member B41. A third partition member B-3 is then positioned on the partition member A-2 with its circular holes 54 respectively in alignment with circular holes 38 of partition mem1ber'A-2. Thus, it is seen that the partition member B-3 ha-s been rotated in its own plane by 180 from the partition member B2 and is in alignment with the bottommost partition member B-1. A third group of oil burners 68 is then positioned with their iat portions 24 of their housing portions 12 respectively seated in the rectangular holes 56 of partition member B-3, thus resting upon the underlying partition member A-2.

Assembly of the pallet is then continued as herein! efore described with partition members A-3 land B-4 resting upon the oil burners of group 68, group 70 of o-il burners resting upon partition members A-3 and B-4, partition members A-4 and B-S resting upon group 70 of oil burners and group 72 of o-il burners` resting in turn upon partition members A-4 and B-5. It will be observed that in accordance with my invention, each cooperating pair of partition members A and B are rotated or reversed by 180 in their own plane from the adjacent pair of partition members A and B above and below it, thereby providing for the nesting of the oil burners of one layer or group and the blast tubes of the next lower group, as seen in FIG. 6. ,K

In order to complete the pallet, a single partition member A-S is positioned resting upon the next lower tubular elements 66 and the anges 20 of the oil burners of the uppermost group 72, The air tubes 18 of the oil burner group 72 which project upwardly through circular holes 38 in the partition member A-5 are again surrounded by tubular elements 66. Tubular cover member 74 is then positioned over the oil burners and partition members with its lower extremity being seated within peripheral ange 34 of base member 32. The pallet is then held l1n assembled relation by conventional metal bands 76 g/hicshsurround the cover member 74 Iand the base memer In an actual oil burner pallet constructed in accordance with this invention, base mem-ber 32 was formed of 275 pound test corrugated board and was 52% inches long by 5 07/s inch wide, with ange34 Ibeing 3 inches high. Rectangular elements 60 and 62 were formed of 275 pound test corrugated board and were 81/2 inches high, partitlon members A and B were formed of 275 pound test corrugated board and were 437/8 inches long by 41% niches Wide. Tubular elements 66 were formed of 275 pound test corrugated board and were 7% inches long and 4% inches square (inside). Cover member 74 was formed of 350 pound test corrugated board with its top 78. being 44 inches long and 417A; inches wide,'and cover member 74 being 49 inches high. With this arrangement, thirty ('30) oil burners are accommodatedv in live (5) layers or groups of six (6) burners, as shown in FIG. l in a completely palletized carton 46 inches long by .43 inches wide by 49 inches high, having a volume of 56.08 cubic feet. By contrast, the oil burner pallet previously employed by applicants assignee for the same model of oil burner accommodated only eighteen (18) oil burners in a pallet 43 inches long by 38 inches wide by 50 inches high, with a total volume of 47.28 cubic feet. It is thus readily seen that with my improved oil burner shipping pallet, twelve additional burners can be shipped in a pallet occupying only slightly greater volumetric space as the previously employed pallet, thus obviously effecting very substantial savings in shipping costs.

While I have illustrated yand idescribed a specific embodiment of my invention, further modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art, and I desire therefore in the appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart from the spirit and sco-pe of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An oil burner shipping pallet comprising: a rectangular base member; a plurality of oil burners respectively having housing portions with air tubes extending therefrom; a plurality of first rectangular partition members each generally coextensive with said base member and having a plurality of holes fonned therethrough in at least two spaced-apart rows respectively having at least two equally spaced holes therein, the holes of each said partition mem-ber defining a rectangle with its transverse and longitudinal center lines respectively displaced from the transverse and longitudinal center lines of said partition member; -a plurality of second rectangular partition members each generally coextensive with said first partition members and having a plurality of first holes formed therethrough respectively in alignment with the holes of said first partition members, each of said second partition members having a plurality of second holes formed therethrough respectively equally spaced from said first holes; one of said second partition members resting upon said base member and in alignment therewith; a first group of said plurality of oil burners having their housing portions respectively seated in said second holes of said one second partition member with their air tubes respectively extending vertically upwardly; one of said first parti-tion members resting upon the housing portions of said first group of oil burners with the air tubes thereof respectively extending through the holes of said one first partition member, said one first partition member being rotated by 180 in its own plane with respect to said one second partition member and being in vertical alignment therewith; a second of said second partition members resting upon said one of said first partition members, said second of said second partition members being rotated by 180 in its own plane with respect to the first of said second partition members and having its first holes respectively in alignment with the holes of said one first partition member and with the air tubes of said rst group of oil burners respectively extending therethrough; a second group of said plurality of oil burners having their housing portions respectively seated in said second holes of said lsecond partition members and with ltheir air tubes respectively extending vertically upwardly; a second of said first partition members resting upon the housing portions of said second group of oil burners with the air tubes thereof respectively extending through the holes of said second of said rst partition members, said second of said first partition members being rotated by in its own plane with respect to the first of said partition members and having its holes respectively in alignment with the first holes of the first of said second partition members; a third of said second partition members resting upon s-aid second of said first partition members, said third of said second partition members being rotated by 180 in its own plane with respect to the second of said second partition members and having its holes in alignment with the respective holes of the first of said second partition members and with the air tubes of the second group of oil burners respectively extending through its first holes; a third group of said plurality o-f oil burners having their housing portions respectively seated in the second holes of said third of said second partition members with their air tubes extending vertically upwardly; and a tubular cover member enclosing said oil burners and said partition members and secured to said base member.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said second holes of said second partition members are generally rectangular and are disposed at an angle to the sides of said second partition member, and wherein each of said oil burner housing portions has a fiat portion former thereon with the axis of said air tube being generally perpendicular thereto, said fiat portions being respectively seated in said second openings in said second partition members.

3. The combination of claim 1 Iwherein said base member has an upwardly extending peripheral fiange portion formed thereon, wherein said first of said second partition members is disposed within said'flange portion; and fur ther comprising a plurality of rectangular elements extending between said first of said second partition members and the first of said first partition members for supporting the same and the oil burners thereon, said rectangular elements respectively surrounding the oil burners in each row of said first group; and a plurality of tubular elements respectively surrounding said air tubes, the tubular elements surrounding the air tubes of said first group of oil burners respectively extending between the second of said second partition members and the second of said first partition members for supporting the same and the oil burners thereon.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein the housing portion of each of said oil burners has an annular mounting flange surrounding the inner end of the air tube, and wherein the first and second ones of said first partition members respectively rest upon said flanges of the first and second groups of oil burners.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 325,936 Keith Sept. 8, 1885 2,607,475 Budd Aug. 19, 1952 2,665,807 Budd Jan. 12, 1954 

